Doctors say there’s a chance that one of Earl Lionell Ward’s children might never walk again. Authorities say Ward had driven off with the children sleeping in the back of the van after their mother got out of the vehicle after she says Ward threatened her while driving home from a drive-in movie near St. Paul. Ward, who has an extensive criminal history including charges of domestic assault and drug violations, already has been charged with assaulting the woman, Della Svenningsen, on a previous occasion. According to TwinCities.com, Svenningsen said she was planning to leave Ward with the children because he had started using drugs.

After the movie, Svenningsen says she went to the bathroom, and when she returned it smelled like someone had been smoking either crack or heroin. Her son, 20, confirmed that he had seen Ward smoking something while she was in the restroom. The couple fought as they left the drive-in, until Svenningsen says she felt threatened so she got out of the vehicle. After getting out, she says she soon heard a crash and could her children screaming from a block away.

When she found her children they very seriously injured. Fourteen-year-old Amarya West’s neck was broken, and the family has been told she might not walk again. Almond West, 8, had a broken femur and a severed artery in that leg. He and his sister both underwent surgery Tuesday, their aunt said.

Acting on a tip, police found the 45-year-old father at a relative’s home in St. Paul and arrested him without incident Tuesday evening. Ward, who has a long criminal history, had warrants for his arrest in two cases he’s been charged in — domestic assault and violation of domestic-abuse no-contact order. Svenningsen was the victim in both, the charges say. The family was coming from Lake Elmo’s Vali-Hi Drive In early Tuesday. They’d just seen the current Transformers movie and 22 Jump Street, said Tracie Svenningsen, Della’s sister.

‘They had a nice, fun family day, and it ended in tragedy,’ she said.

I understand that the mother got out of the car because she felt threatened by Earl but why did she allow her children to stay in the car after the drive-in movie if the father had become intoxicated on crack or heroin? Now those parents will pay the rest of their lives for their irresponsible decisions by watching their paralyzed daughter miss out on milestones as result of her injuries.